Transcript Document

Antichrist and the End Times
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The Second Beast
SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Chapter 13 has introduced the reader to the major
human figure of the end times, a human
representative of Satan.
• This man will be the ultimate human despot; he will
achieve what no man has achieved before, for he
will rule the whole earth.
• He will succeed where Alexander the Great, Julius
Caesar, Ghenghis Kahn, Napoleon, Hitler, and
many other men, all burning with the same
ambition, have failed.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Revelation calls him the Beast (we use a
capitalized ‘Beast’ to refer to him in order to
distinguish him from Revelation’s other
beasts), but Scripture gives him many other
names: Daniel calls him ‘the little horn’ (7:8),
‘the prince who is to come’ (9:26), ‘the willful
king’ (11:36); I John 2:18 refers to him as the
‘great antichrist,’ while II Thess 2:3 calls him
‘the man of sin.’
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• He is an individual, not a system, and his
blasphemy includes designating himself as God
(thus berating God), and persecuting God’s saints.
• Revelation’s symbolism talks of systems and covers
the sweep of the history of empires which have
conquered and oppressed Israel in her own land.
• The Beast, while an individual, will be the
embodiment of all these regimes which have
ignored God’s purposes for this earth and sought
their own gratification.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• He will be a product of these systems, but,
because of the enabling he will receive from
Satan, he will eclipse the systems which will
spawn him and emerge in full control of them.
• These systems will be embodied in a revived
Roman Empire which apparently will be
greater than its predecessor and will include
the territory of Alexander the Great’s Grecian
Empire (which included the Persian,
Babylonian, Egyptian, and Assyrian empires).
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• This will be an unholy alliance of people from
present day Christian and Islamic countries.
• The revived Roman Empire will be founded with the
assistance of ten kings, three of whom will be
displaced by the Beast.
• He will thus become the eighth king, but also the
supreme king with the other six subject to him.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• His foundation will be his own kingdom and
three empires, and as the symbols of the
three empires are given in Revelation 13, we
can assume they will be Greece, Babylonia
(now called Iraq), and Persia (now called
Iran).
• The symbolism used suggests that by birth
the Beast will be Grecian, for the Beast’s body
symbolizes this; his political foundation will be
laid in Iran (the feet of the bear), and yet his
forum will be in Iraq (the mouth of the lion).
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Whatever opinions on the Beast’s origins may be,
Revelation is clear as to his end.
• For forty-two months he will have dominion over the
earth, and during that period he will make every
effort to extinguish any belief in the true God and
substitute a form of Satan worship for the one true
faith.
• Mankind’s rebellion against the authority of its
Creator will reach its zenith under this man’s
leadership, and he will be so effective that it will look
for all the world as though Satan may well win his
long battle against God, and evil will triumph over
good.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• The Antichrist can only come from one specific
place, and the Bible points out exactly where that
place is; there is no need for a guessing game.
• Daniel's visions actually aren't that hard to
understand; all it takes is a little common sense to
see that they talk about ten kingdoms in a specific
geographical region (within the vicinity of the
Mediterranean Sea).
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Saying the ten kingdoms of Daniel's visions are ten
governmental types, or an economic treaty between
ten countries, or any other manner of creative
interpretation, goes further and further away from
what scripture actually says.
• Concerning the prophecies in the book of Daniel, as
well as similar prophecies covering the same events
given by the apostle John while exiled on the Isle of
Patmos, a new revision of the ancient Roman
Empire will be formed in the last days.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• This empire will be the seventh world-dominating
empire mentioned in scripture.
• The first world-dominating empire was Assyria, the
second Egypt, and then Babylon, Medo-Persia, the
Grecian Empire, and the Roman Empire.
• Almost all students of the Bible agree about the
identity of the kingdoms of the world leading up to
the revised Roman Empire.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• The revised Roman Empire will encompass a very
large tract of land that once housed fifty-four
provinces.1 There are now (as of the year 2007)
over twenty complete countries within the original
territory of the ancient Roman Empire, and about
twenty more countries if one counts areas where
only portions of countries are included.2 All of these
countries surround the Mediterranean Sea and
span three continents, which includes most of
Europe, a western portion of Asia, and a northern
portion of Africa.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Now what would have to take place that would
shuffle national boundaries around to such a degree
that nearly forty countries become ten? An easy
answer would be war-and a very large one at that.
Keep in mind that this has to happen before the
Antichrist will rise to power.
• Once the ten kingdoms are in place, the Antichrist is
identified by both the prophet Daniel and the
apostle John as being one of the kings of one of
these nations.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Daniel in particular was given three visions that
speak of which area the Antichrist will rise to power
from, and each vision narrows down his location
with more precision.
• First, the Antichrist is mentioned as being one of the
kings of the ten kingdoms of the revised Roman
Empire (ten toes of beast in Daniel 2; ten horns of
beast in Daniel 7:23-24; ten horns of beast in
Revelation 12:3; 13:1-4; 17:8-17).
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• In Daniel's second vision, the Antichrist is said to
arise out of the area that was once part of the
ancient Grecian Empire (Daniel 8:8-9, 8:21-23).
This region overlaps the eastern portion of the
ancient Roman Empire; it is symbolized by the
metals of the image in Daniel 2, the four beasts of
Daniel 7, and the he-goat of Daniel 8:5-26.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• In Daniel's third vision, it was shown that the
Grecian Empire would be divided into four parts
following the death of Alexander the Great (Daniel
8:8-9, 8:21-23, 11:4), and then Daniel saw which of
these four parts the Antichrist would arise from.
• The quadrant he will come from will be the Syrian
quadrant.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• This can be determined from the fact that he will be
in the nation directly north of Egypt (the Antichrist is
mentioned as being the king to the north of EgyptDaniel 11:36-46), which completely rules out a
number of countries different theorists have
speculated through the years, such as the Vatican,
Germany, England, and the United States.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• This area today is the location of modern Syria,
Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and
Iran.
• Daniel 7:23-24* (bold emphasis added) Thus he
said the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom
upon earth, which shall be diverse from all
kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and
shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings
that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;
and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall
subdue three kings.
• The Antichrist is depicted as arising out of one of
the ten kings of the revised Roman Empire.
• Daniel 8:21-23* The ram which thou sawest having
two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. And
the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great
horn that is between his eyes is the first king
(Alexander the Great).
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it,
four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but
not in his power.
• And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce
countenance, and understanding dark sentences
[the Antichrist], shall stand up.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Clearly the Antichrist is mentioned as coming from
one of the four quadrants of the ancient Grecian
Empire.
• Daniel 11:36-46 And the king shall do according to
his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify
himself above every god, and shall speak
marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall
prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that
that is determined shall be done.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor
the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he
shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate
shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom
his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and
silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant
things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds
with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge
and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to
rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• And at the time of the end shall the king of the south
[Egypt, shown below] push at him: and the king of
the north shall come against him like a whirlwind,
with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many
ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and
shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also
into the glorious land, and many countries shall be
overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand,
even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children
of Ammon.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the
countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold
and of silver, and over all the precious things of
Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be
at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of
the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go
forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make
away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of
his palace between the seas in the glorious holy
mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none
shall help him.
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SUMMARY OF THE FIRST BEAST
• Lebanon is also a candidate for being the nation
where the Antichrist will initially rise to power
because it too is north of Egypt, and it was once
within the borders of ancient Assyria.
• Notably it's also a very small nation.
• Another name for the Antichrist is "little horn"
(Daniel 7:8, 7:24, 8:9, 8:23), which denotes the
possibility that a small nation is being spoken of, in
comparison to the other nations around it. Lebanon
is among the smallest nations to the north of Egypt.
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The False Prophet
• Revelation 12 closed with the dragon who, knowing
that his time was short, was enraged with the
woman (Israel), and with him going off to make war
with her children. In the first verse of chapter 13 in
our English Bibles, we find him standing on the
seashore with the beast rising up out of the sea, but
in the Greek text this sentence is verse 18 of
chapter 12. There is a logical progression here of
cause and effect. The dragon standing on the sand
of the seashore continues the story of the dragon of
chapter 12 who, as explained in 12:9, is none other
than Satan himself.
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The False Prophet
• The logical progression is the angry dragon looks
out over the sea, a picture of the Gentile world
powers which he dominates. He is looking for two
things: (a) For the best method with which to
persecute Israel, and (b) for the best way he can
rise to greater power in order to be worshipped.
Chapter 13 describes the method he will choose,
the end-time form of the old Roman empire which,
by this point in the Tribulation, has developed into a
ten nation confederation with a very subtle leader,
one whom Satan will now use in the most hideous
ways.
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The False Prophet
• Who is Satan? As seen previously, he is the prince
of this world and the god of this age. He is the fallen
angel and the anointed cherub who fell from his
place of service because he sought to be like the
most high. Satan has always been desperately set
on ruling men and being worshipped by them; now
he sees his chance. The mystery of lawlessness
has always been at work, but after the church age,
the Restrainer (God indwelling His church by the
Holy Spirit) has been removed (2 Thess. 2:6-7).
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The False Prophet
• The beast, therefore, set before us in Revelation 13,
is the dragon’s masterpiece of delusion, leading to
worship of himself (Revelation 13:4).
• The “sand of the sea” undoubtedly portrays the
many people who make up the nations, the number
of whom is as the sand of the sea (Rev. 20:8).
• Standing on “the sand of the sea,” suggests Satan’s
position as the usurper of the earth and its many
peoples and of his power over them.
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The False Prophet
• Remember that Isaiah likens the nations to a
roaring and restless sea that cannot be quiet and
whose waters (their humanistic way of life and
political agitation) can only churn up refuse and
mud; a fitting picture of the products of a world
without peace with God. They have no peace
because they have rejected the true Prince of
Peace and will turn to their own solutions to life and
to the antichrist as their means to world peace, but
in reality, this will be not much more than a selfcentered pursuit for comfort and personal affluence
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The False Prophet
• From the context, the dragon looks out over the sea
of nations and then implements the system of the
beast to carry out his desired goals—the
persecution of Israel and his own worship (cf. 13:46).
• “Then I saw a beast.” “Beast” is the Greek qhrion
(cf. 6:8; 11:7) which refers to a wild and rapacious
animal or beast. It is to be contrasted with zwon,
“living creature,” used for the holy angels, and with
kthnos, “a beast of burden” as an ox. Qhrion points
out two things.
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The False Prophet
• First, it portrays the brutal, bloody, uncontrolled and
wild character of the dictator and his system; it is
inhuman.
• Second, qhrion portrays this antichrist figure as the
epitome and paramount outgrowth of the character
of Satan who is himself called “the great red
dragon.”
• As John is watching this scene, he sees the beast
coming up out of the sea.
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The False Prophet
• “Coming up” is in a descriptive present which
portrays the development of this man and his
system through the political and military
maneuvers that gradually bring him to power
within the nations of Europe.
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The False Prophet
• “The sea” as suggested, is symbolical of
masses of people (cf. Rev. 17:15), and
especially of the Gentile nations. The system
of the beast will be derived from and will be
the final Gentile world power to have
dominion of Israel during the times of the
Gentiles (see Luke 21:24). So Israel, as the
nation to whom God promised the land of
Israel, is related to the land, and the nations
to the sea.
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The False Prophet
• In support of this are following facts:
• (1) In Revelation 17:1, 15 and Daniel 7:2-3, all the
nations portrayed there, which are linked with the
waters or the sea, are Gentile powers as Babylon,
Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.
• (2) In the visions of Daniel 2 and 7, Daniel sees
Gentile powers who will continue to rule and
dominate over Israel until the return of Jesus Christ.
Jesus called this “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke
21:24).
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The False Prophet
• This began in 587 B.C. with the Babylonian captivity
and will continue to the end of the Tribulation, until
the return of Christ (Rev. 19).
• (3) One should also note and compare Daniel’s
description of the four Gentile powers (7:4-25),
especially the fourth, with that of John in Revelation
13:2-6.
• (4) Daniel 9:26-27 clearly shows that the final world
ruler would be a Roman, one out of the old Roman
empire, a Gentile power.
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The False Prophet
• Worship – The False Prophet
• His Description (11)
• “And I saw another beast.” “Another” is the Greek
allos meaning, “another of the same kind.” He plays
a different role, but in character he is another qhrion,
one who is beastly, rapacious, cruel, and of course
hostile to the flock of God’s people like a wolf,
though dressed in sheep clothing. He is seen
“coming up out of the earth.” As before, “coming up”
is a present participle portraying a gradual, but
continual ascendancy as a world figure and leader.
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The False Prophet
• “Out of the earth” distinguishes and contrasts him
with the beast out of the sea. These two beasts
though similar, are diverse in origin. As the sea
symbolized the mass of humanity, the nations, so
“the earth, land, the ground, region, or country” (the
Greek gh) may symbolize the nation Israel who is
consistently related to the land in Scripture. As
mentioned, some believe the sea refers to the
Mediterranean and so the “earth” or land would refer
to Palestine. Some think this beast will be a Jew, a
false prophet among Jews who seeks to persuade
men to follow the beast as the antichrist.
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The False Prophet
• Some believe the idea that he is a Jew is supported
by the things said about the second beast regarding
his actions and character: (a) this beast is the false
prophet who promotes the worship of the first beast
by performing signs which are similar to Elijah’s, a
prophet of Israel (13:12-13), and (b) he has two
horns, like a lamb, the sacrificial animal of the Jews.
But such a conclusion is not necessary.
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The False Prophet
• However, in the light of the great antiSemitism of the last half of the Tribulation, it
seems unlikely that Satan or the first beast
would allow a Jew to live, much less occupy
such an important position of power and
authority. More than likely he is simply an
important religious figure representing a rising
religious and ecclesiastical movement which
this second beast and Satan will use to
promote the beast out of the sea (cf. 17:7, 1516).
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The False Prophet
• The False Prophet is the second beast:
• "And I beheld another beast coming up out of
the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb,
and he spoke as a dragon. And he exercised
all the power of the first beast before him, and
causes the earth and them which dwell
therein to worship the first beast, whose
deadly wound was healed. And he does great
wonders, so that he makes fire come down
from heaven to earth in the sight of men.
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The False Prophet
• And deceives them that dwell on the earth by the
means of those miracles which he had power to do
in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell
on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live. And he had power to give life to the beast, that
the image of the beast should both speak, and
cause that as many as would not worship the image
of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their,
forehead.
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The False Prophet
• And that no man might buy or sell, save he
that had the mark, or the name of the beast,
or the number of his name."
• Just like the Anti-christ, the False Prophet will
at first look good, even to religious people.
• Just like satan can disguise himself as an
angel of light, the False Prophet has two
horns like a lamb which is a symbol of Jesus
but this man will speak as a dragon which is a
symbol of Satan.
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The False Prophet
• The False Prophet will speak with the
authority and power of the Anti-Christ, so we
can deduce that they will be working together
but the one with two horns will serve the
other.
• The false prophet may be a religious leader,
possibly even a confessing Jew and will
presume to act in the name of G-d.
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The False Prophet
• Purpose
• This section reveals that the Beast will be
joined by a lieutenant, another satanic man,
and also how it will transpire that the world
will come to worship the Beast.
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The False Prophet
• Exposition
• Revelation 13 introduces us to another beast
whose sole function is to serve and glorify the
first Beast, and who Revelation identifies as
the false prophet (16:13; 19:20; 20:10). We
noted in earlier chapters that God
demonstrates His ability and control by
delegating the performance of His will to
others: angels, men, and even Jesus.
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The False Prophet
• Furthermore, when Jesus was on earth He
delegated His power to the twelve (Matt
10:1,ff.), then to the seventy (Luke 10:1,ff.),
and sent them out in His behalf.
• In so doing He demonstrated His sovereignty,
for this proved His ability to rule the Kingdom
of God on earth.
• The Beast will mimic this, for he is portrayed
as essentially acting through his lieutenant.
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The False Prophet
• He, after all, will claim to be deity; he must act
accordingly!
• But it is particularly noteworthy that the
second beast will have to exercise the
Beast’s authority in his presence—there just
can be no trust between the forces of evil!
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The False Prophet
• This man will be the high priest of the satanic
cult which will worship the Beast; he will have
the full authority and approval of the Beast
(v.12), but his connection with the powers of
darkness will extend beyond the human to
the supernatural level, for he will have
demonic powers which will enable him to
perform miracles that will deceive the world
into believing in the deity of the Beast.
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The False Prophet
• The irony of man’s sin nature is that when the
Son of God performed miracles, man, as a
race, refused to believe Him; but when
someone who indulges man’s sin nature
performs miracles, man will choose to believe
him.
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The False Prophet
• The miracle of v.13 is so similar to the powers
of God’s two witnesses (11:5) that it will
cause great confusion in the minds of
mankind; however, the height of his
miraculous achievements will be to confer life
on an image (clone?) of the Beast, which
surely will convince the human race that the
riddle of life has been solved.
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The False Prophet
• The speaking of v.15, indicates a reasoning ability,
so this is not simply a talking machine, but the
spectacular achievement of a reasoning, conversing
entity (the exegetical note on v.15 suggests this
icon will have a demonic, supernatural ability).
• breath = (or) spirit, or the power of an evil spirit.
• Mankind will have achieved its highest ambition: it
will apparently be able to imitate God in producing
life.
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The False Prophet
• We should note that the image is mentioned three
times here in this chapter and in 14:9, 11; 15:2;
16:2; 19:20 and 20:4.
• This image becomes the center of the false worship
of the beast and the focal point of the final state of
apostasy and idolatry.
• Finally, we are told that the false prophet is able to
give breath to the image. This gives it the
appearance of life. However, it isn’t real life, zwe,
but only breath, pneuma.
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The False Prophet
• Since breath or breathing is one of the signs of life,
men think the image lives, but John is careful not to
say that he gives life (zwe) to the image. Only God
can do that.
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The False Prophet
• Mills says: "It seems to me that some dark and
mysterious force is indicated here. In the late
twentieth century technological world a speaking
machine or even an intelligent, reasoning computer
would not promote the conviction that its inventor is
divine and therefore worthy of worship. The word
‘image,’ to my mind, could also encompass the
concept ‘clone’; and I suspect that something as
stupendous as a flesh and blood clone could
promote vast awe and thus the religious recognition
and fervor indicated in this passage."
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The False Prophet
• There also seems to be some link between
the Beast’s miraculous restoration to life and
the lieutenant; so I wonder whether he will be
some brilliant, diabolical scientist involved in
research into the mysteries of life, who will
use his newfound knowledge to restore the
mortally wounded Beast to life—a sort of
Frankenstein situation.
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The False Prophet
• We know from the age in which we live that
achievements like these are all that an atheist
would want to establish his position, for any
apparent solution to the mystery of life will
readily be promulgated as proof that the God
of the Bible does not exist.
• The natural sinful consequence of this is that
the world will love the man who released
them from their ‘primitive’ concept of God.
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The False Prophet
• After all, that man will appear to be the
source of life himself, for they will reason,
“Has he not come alive after death, and can
he not animate a man-made body?”
• Sinful mankind will be relieved to have a
basis for believing God does not exist, and
will, in sin’s typical illogical action, elevate this
man to the position of a god.
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The False Prophet
• The Beast will astutely delegate this power to
confer life to his priest, or false prophet, and
so demonstrate his control over ‘life,’ thus
consolidating his grip by exploiting the human
desire for eternal youth.
• Who will this lieutenant be?
• Firstly, he is not the Beast, for while the Beast
comes out of the sea, he is from the earth
(v.11).
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The False Prophet
• He is symbolized as having two horns like a
lamb, a description similar to that used in Dan
8:6,20 to represent Medio-Persia whose seat
of power was in today’s Iran. This connection
is very tenuous, but it is the only possible
other biblical reference to this man of which I
am aware; so, maybe, he will be Iranian. 44
What is certain is that his thoughts are
inspired by Satan (speaks with the voice of a
dragon, 12:9).
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• Some exegetes note the contrast between
v.1 and v.11, and see his origin (the land) as
indicating he is an Israelite as the OT uses
‘sea’ to symbolize Gentile nations and ‘land’
to symbolize Israel.
• The two interpretations are not necessarily
mutually exclusive; he could be an Iranian of
Jewish descent.
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The False Prophet
• “The use of the phrase the earth [land]
(13:11) tells us that this beast is homegrown,
unlike the beast out of the sea (or the Gentile
world), which is Rome. “…the phrase the
land, as used by the writers of Scripture and
especially the prophets, often refers to the
promised land; i.e., the land of Palestine….”
“…’land’ is synonymous with Israel in Jewish
writings.” J. E. Leonard, Come Out of Her My
People, 97.
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The False Prophet
• What is certain is that his thoughts are
inspired by Satan (speaks with the voice of a
dragon, 12:9).
• It is also plain that his ambitions are only for
the Beast, and that there is no jealousy
between them; this man will be a loyal
servant as this will be in his self-interest
because he will recognize that Satan’s favor
lies with the Beast.
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The False Prophet
• His job is one of worship (13:12).
• This beast is identified in chapter 19 of
Revelation as the false prophet.
• He serves a religious purpose.
• “Satan, the Primal Serpent, has his Messiah,
who is himself incarnate; he must also have
his Prophet.
• Pseudo-prophets were expected as well as
Pseudo-christs.”
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• And the beast was seized, and with him the
false prophet who performed the signs in his
presence, by which he deceived those who
had received the mark of the beast and those
who worshiped his image; these two were
thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns
with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20, NASB95)
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The False Prophet
• Pseudo-prophets were expected as well as
Pseudo-christs.”
• For false Christ’s and false prophets will arise
and will show great signs and wonders, so as
to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
(Matthew 24:24, NASB95)
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The False Prophet
• …the one whose coming is in accord with the
activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false
wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness
for those who perish, because they did not receive
the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this
reason God will send upon them a deluding
influence so that they will believe what is false, in
order that they all may be judged who did not
believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9–12, NASB95)
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The False Prophet
• From www.redmoonrising.com
• The book of Revelation makes it clear that the
future Antichrist will be aided by an individual known
as the False Prophet.
• He is the man who helps to convince the world that
the Antichrist is worthy and deserving of worship,
and ultimately it is he who enforces this worship on
penalty of death.
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The False Prophet
• The bible also makes the provocative implication
that the False Prophet may actually claim to be
Jesus of Nazareth, and the prophet Daniel tells us
that this powerful spiritual leader will come from
Rome.
• This second beast is referred to as the False
Prophet in Revelation 16:13 and 19:20.
• The False Prophet may claim to be Jesus of
Nazareth
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The False Prophet
• This relatively new understanding is based on the
False Prophet's description in Revelation 13:11
where he is described as having two horns "like a
lamb..."
• The metaphor of a "Lamb" is used twenty-eight
times throughout the book of Revelation
• It is used almost exclusively, twenty-seven of these
times in fact, as a reference to the Lamb of God,
Jesus Christ.
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• The single instance where the term "Lamb" is not
used in connection with Jesus Christ is here in
Revelation 13 in reference to the False Prophet.
• “The False Prophet appears like a lamb, yet he
speaks like a dragon.”
• Now, let’s look at his claim that Daniel describes
him as coming from Rome:
• “Daniel 9:27 is a prophecy of a future Roman prince
who will erect an image known as the "Abomination
of Desolation,”
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The False Prophet
• He will confirm a covenant with many for one
`seven.' In the middle of the `seven' he will put an
end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the
temple] he will set up an abomination that causes
desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured
out on him.
• The Abomination of Desolation is referred to by
Jesus Christ as the high point of the Tribulation
period in Matthew 24:15-21.
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• The majority of scholars understand that the
Abomination of Desolation is the same as the
"image of the beast" that is erected in Revelation
13:14, which also indicates that the setting up of the
image is the high point of the Tribulation.
• Revelation confirms that it is the False Prophet who
directly orders that the Abomination be erected,
therefore the Roman prince of Daniel 9:27, who is
shown setting up the Abomination of Desolation, is
the False Prophet.”
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The False Prophet
• [This is an excellent observation, one thoroughly
overlooked by most commentators, who identify the
Daniel 9:27 personage as the Antichrist, himself, not
the False Prophet.]
• [Let’s look at his argument against their view:]
• Many scholars maintain the belief that the Roman
prince of Daniel 9:27 is a reference to the Antichrist,
but this view is inadequate based on a number of
reasons:
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The False Prophet
• First of all, as shown in Revelation 13:14, it is the
False Prophet who carries out the setting up of the
Abomination, and not the Antichrist.
• This view is supported by Daniel 11:31 which
describes the "armed forces" of the Antichrist
setting up the Abomination.
• As a subordinate to the Antichrist, the False Prophet
would be considered as part of the Antichrist's
forces.
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The False Prophet
• If 2 Thessalonians 2:4 is used alone as evidence
that the Antichrist erects the Abomination, then it
conflicts with Revelation 13:14 and Daniel 11:31.
• The only logical and non-contradictory interpretation
is that the False Prophet erects the Abomination
and that 2 Thessalonians 2:4 merely indicates that
the Antichrist, by sanctioning the setup of the
Abomination, makes the de-facto claim to be God.
• More evidence that the Roman prince of Daniel
9:27 is the False Prophet rather than the Antichrist
can be found by focusing on the Hebrew
terminology…
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The False Prophet
• The title of "king," which is the Hebrew word "melek,"
is used of the Antichrist in Daniel 7:24, 8:23 and
throughout 11:21-45.
• However, Daniel 9:26-27 refers to the future leader
from Rome as a "prince" or "ruler," which is the
Hebrew word "nagiyd."
• Because the book of Daniel consistently refers to the
Antichrist as a "melek," rather than a "nagiyd," it is
unlikely that the Antichrist is referred to in Daniel 9:2627.
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The False Prophet
• Christians understand that the world awaits the
beginning of the final seven year period of the
earth's history.
• It is the final "week," the final seven year period,
that was given in Daniel's prophecy of the Seventy
Weeks.
• This prophecy is the critical foundation to
understanding bible prophecy.
• This final seven year period will begin when the
future Roman prince "confirms a covenant" that will
involve the nation of Israel and the city of
Jerusalem.
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The False Prophet
• This researcher has been led to the belief that this
future Roman prince will be the False Prophet of
bible prophecy, and that he may indeed be a leader
of the post-rapture apostate Roman Catholic
Church.
• It is clear from scripture that the False Prophet will
be a powerful and well respected spiritual leader
and there is none more powerful or more respected
in religious matters than the Roman Catholic Pope.
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The False Prophet
• Catholic commentators such as the late Father
Malachi Martin, Kathleen Keating (The Final
Warning) and numerous Catholic visionaries are
united in the belief that the Catholic Church will at
one time be led by a figure they call the Anti-Pope
who will turn against the fundamentals of the
Christian faith and accept the Antichrist.
• It has also been revealed by numerous sources that
the Vatican is currently intimately involved in the
Middle East peace process. [End]
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The False Prophet
• The False Prophet, whoever he is, heads up a one
world religion, and makes certain that it's united in
its worship of the Antichrist.
• Building a great image of him, he uses supernatural
power from the devil to give it a semblance of life
and makes everyone worship it on pain of death.
• Because no one can tell if another person is really
worshiping or just going through the motions, he
devises a test.
• If you're loyal to Antichrist and truly worship him,
you must agree to take a mark to prove it.
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• It will not only demonstrate your sincerity, but allow
you to participate fully in mainstream life without
fear.
• Refusing it means you're one of those who has
given your heart to Jesus.
• If you're caught, the penalty for that is death.
• And even if you're not, you'll face a nearly
impossible challenge in just staying alive.”
• (http://www.raptureready.com/featured/kelley/rev12.
html)
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The False Prophet
• 13:16 And he causes all, the small and the great,
and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the
slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on
their forehead….
• A mark (13:16) would show ownership and was
common in ancient history.
• This was not unlike the branding of cattle that is a
familiar picture to us today.
• Branding just this very way in years past marked
slaves.
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• In the Scripture we find a similar marking of slaves.
If a slave had served out his time and was to be
released, he could petition the master to keep him
on as a permanent slave and part of the household.
• If this was acceptable to the master…
• …then his master shall bring him to God, then he
shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his
master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall
serve him permanently…. (Exodus 21:6, NASB95)
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The False Prophet
• Often the pierced ear was filled with an earring as
well.
• In fact, in the ancient world nose rings and earrings
were signs of being under authority to another.
• This practice seems to have had its origin in the
nose ring of a bull.
• The large ring, in the very sensitive area of the
nose, allowed the difficult animal to be controlled
without much effort.
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The False Prophet
• The ring demonstrated that he was under
submission or authority to another. Women and
slaves, who were also under submission or
authority to others, commonly wore nose and ear
rings as well.
• In addition to slaves, soldiers often branded
themselves with symbols to show they were loyal to
their commander or general.
• This brand or tattoo was worn as a badge of honor,
especially if the legion or general were famous for
their achievements.
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The False Prophet
• Certain religions followed this practice as well. For
instance, certain Hindus wear a red dot on their
forehead testifying to their religious practice and
commitment. This type of marking is forbidden in
Scripture.
• You shall not make any cuts in your body for the
dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I
am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:28, NASB95)
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The False Prophet
• The point to note here is that a person is identified
as a servant of another by means of marks
associated with his or her body...
• But [GOD’S] mark is there because God places one
on His children.
• He can see it.
• Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands,
having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are
His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the
Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” (2 Timothy
2:19, NASB95)
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• And indeed that sums up the purpose of the mark; it
identifies a person with his or her master.
• God does that, and so does Satan.
• The devil’s mark is on his children just as surely as
God’s is on His family.
• This is not the first time we read of a seal or mark
on the forehead. In Revelation 7:3 we read:
• Do not harm the earth [land] or the sea or the trees
until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God
on their foreheads. (Revelation 7:3, NASB95)
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The False Prophet
• Their seal, as children of God, identifies them as
bondservants of God.
• And as we stated, the sons and daughters of Satan
are also identified.
• “In our present passage the marking of those who
worshiped the beast is a blasphemous parody of
the protective sealing of the faithful in Rev 7:1–3.”
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• Then another angel, a third one, followed them,
saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the
beast and his image, and receives a mark on his
forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the
wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full
strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of
the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11
And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and
ever; they have no rest day and night, those who
worship the beast and his image, and whoever
receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9–11)
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• 13:17 …and he provides that no one will be able to
buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark,
either the name of the beast or the number of his
name.
• Now we know that the bondservants of God
received a mark or seal visible only in the spiritual
world.
• These received a similar mark visible only in the
spiritual world.
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• The reason for noting that the mark was placed on
the forehead (13:17) and hand (13:17) was to
make the point that they were servants in thought
and deed.
• We also notice that the Old Testament instructs the
believer to identify himself with God and His Word
through the means of the hand and head, which
symbolizes his deeds and thoughts.
• You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and
they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
(Deuteronomy 6:8, NASB95)
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• You shall therefore impress these words of mine on
your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind
them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as
frontals on your forehead. (Deuteronomy 11:18,
NASB95)
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• In addition, we know that those that sacrificed to the
Roman god’s did receive a “receipt” from the
officiating authority proving their loyalty to Rome
and Caesar in faith (thought) and behavior (deed).
• One thing is certain, without the receipt or mark one
could not buy or sell. “…official certificates of
loyalty were issued to those who had complied with
the law and taken part in the ritual of the imperial
religion. These certificates form an apt parallel to
the ‘mark of the beast….’ ”530
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• Modern technology has reached a point where a
small computer chip implanted beneath the skin
could achieve this by becoming the necessary key
for any commercial transaction.
• If, for example, all money was withdrawn and a
centralized banking system substituted for monetary
exchange, this technology would furnish a
remarkably effective means of subjugating and
controlling the world’s population.
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• Remember, famines and plagues will seriously
deplete the world’s food resources in the tribulation
(the third seal, the first three trumpets), for this will
be a time when buying food will be virtually
essential to existence itself.
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• Mills says: "As to the riddle of v.18, I have no
theories, for I reason that it would be foolishly
audacious for me to pit my paltry human intelligence
against my God. I suspect that when the Beast is
revealed, all men who know Rev 13:8 will exclaim,
“Of course, how stupid of me not to see this—it is so
obvious!” I am sure that God’s riddle will have at
least one simple answer and probably several
different equally valid ways to reach the correct
answer, for it seems to revolve around both his
‘number’ and his name.
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• "However, I am persuaded no man will crack it until
the Beast is revealed, for in this sort of
circumstance God’s vast superiority over man will
be gloriously displayed and He will thus be glorified.
• One point needs noting, however: the riddle insists
that the Beast is a man; so Satan’s representative
will be flesh and blood, not a system or
organization.
• Mills, M. (1997, c1987). Revelations: An exegetical
study of the Revelation to John (Re 13:1). Dallas:
3E Ministries.
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• 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has
understanding calculate the number of the beast,
for the number is that of a man; and his number is
six hundred and sixty-six.
• The beast (13:18) referred to here is the first beast
mentioned, the beast out of the sea, Rome. This
beast has a number that is calculated from the
name of a man (13:18) “…which excludes demonic
beings, philosophical systems, political movements
or empires, or anything other than a specific,
individual, human person.”
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• The number calculated from that name is six
hundred and sixty-six (13:18). It is not six, six, six
and it does not refer to social security cards, bar
codes, or mailing addresses. It refers to a man’s
name.
• This number is the object of more eschatological
nonsense than perhaps any other part of Scripture.
It has been applied to most every person of
significance in western history, all foolishly so.
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• Here we see the means by which the second beast
carefully and exclusively distinguishes between
those who will worship the beast and those who will
not so that they might be identified and killed. He
forces all men of every class and category of
society to receive the mark of the beast either in
their right hand or in the forehead, two places that
are prominent and easily seen.
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• Here is sheer tyranny. The word “mark” is the Greek
caragma which means “an impress made by a
stamp” like a brand used on slaves and cattle. Men
will become the slaves of the beast and will
somehow carry the identifying mark of their slavery.
• To enforce the worship of the beast and to make life
impossible without his worship, men cannot buy or
sell without this mark.
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• As a result of the decree to worship the beast and
be branded with his mark, multitudes of believers
will be killed directly because they do not have the
mark and refuse to receive it or because they starve
to death since they cannot buy or sell.
• Some will survive, however, by living off the land or
because other believers who have food share with
those who do not (cf. Matt. 24:15-25 and 25:31-40).
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• We should note that to receive the mark of the
beast is tantamount to the worship of the beast, to
blasphemy of God, and rejection of Jesus Christ (cf.
13:8; 17:8; 14:9-12; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).
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• What will the mark be like? Verse 17 answers this
for us. It is the name of the beast or his number.
This number is defined in verse 18 as 666. This is
the name or number of the first beast and is one of
the options for the mark, either his name or his
number.
• Please note, this also becomes the means of
identifying the beast for who and what he is to the
remnant of true believers.
• This will not be just a number or identification mark
on a plastic card. This will be on the person himself.
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• The number 666 is commonly regarded as an
example of gematria, an ancient numbers game in
which each letter of the alphabet was assigned a
numerical value.
• Any name could be encoded in a number
representing the total of the letters in the name.
John makes it clear that 666 is man's number, or
"the number of a person" (NRSV).
• The problem is that with a bit of ingenuity many
prominent names in every generation can be made
to add up to 666.
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• One commentator wrote that such identifications
"lead to nothing just because they lead to
everything" (Hendriksen 1939:273). The numbers
work quite well, for example, with the name Adolf
Hitler.
• But in order to convey any meaning at all to John's
original readers, 666 must have pointed to a name
they recognized in their own time.
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• The most common suggestion is Nero Caesar. But
as Robert Mounce has pointed out (1977:264), "this
solution asks us to calculate a Hebrew
transliteration of the Greek form of a Latin name,
and that with a defective spelling." When the Latin
form of the name is transliterated directly into
Hebrew, the result is 616, and sure enough, in the
western Roman Empire where Latin was dominant,
there were manuscripts in which the number was
recorded as 616 (Irenaeus noticed this already in
the late second century in his Against Heresies
5.30).
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• Clearly, the scribes who copied the book of
Revelation were familiar with gematria, and it may
well have played a part in John's riddle. Yet
because of its indeterminacy no solution based on
that phenomenon alone is likely ever to be proven
or to find general acceptance.
• A more cautious approach starts from the simple
recognition that 666 is linked to the characteristic
interest in the number seven throughout the book of
Revelation as a number of completeness or
perfection.
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• The number 666 falls short of the magic seven
three times over--at the level of hundreds, tens and
single units. William Hendriksen (1939:182) defined
its message as "failure upon failure upon failure."
The point is subtly different from the dividing of
seven in half to yield three and a half years, the
equivalent of the "42 montes" or "1,260 days."
These numbers, as we have seen, represented a
divine limitation on the authority of the dragon or the
beast, while the number 666 attempts to
characterize the beast himself.
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• At the very least, the ancient philosophical notion of
evil as a lack or a deficiency of the good seems to
be at work in John's mysterious number of the
beast.
• Beyond this, the interpreter--any interpreter--is on
thin ice.
• For what it is worth, some (for example, Rissi
1966:76) have pointed out that 666 is what is called
a triangular number, that is, the sum of every whole
number from one to 36.
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• Thus if we were to lay out on a sheet one dot, then
two, then three, then four and so on up to thirty-six,
we would form a triangle made up of 666 dots.
• The number 36 is of interest not only because it is
the square of six but because it too is a triangular
number, the sum of every whole number from one
to eight.
• In geometrical terms the two-dimensional triangle
becomes a kind of pyramid.
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• In a later vision (17:11), the beast will be called "an
eighth" after a series of seven, and the argument is
that 666 in chapter 13 is in some way equivalent to
"an eighth" in the later chapter.
• This suggestion, although speculative, is of interest
because Revelation 17:11 is introduced similarly:
"This calls for a mind with wisdom" (17:9). It can
only be evaluated, however, in the context of the
later reference.
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• The most important thing for the modern reader to
remember in connection with the celebrated 666 of
verse 18 is that its purpose is to characterize, not
identify, the beast.
• If the name Nero Caesar is somehow concealed
here, the point is not that the beast from the sea is
Nero, but that the beast is like Nero in its character
and evil acts. Clearly the emperor Nero in the sixties
was the major oppressor and persecutor of
Christians within the historical memory of John's
readers.
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• If 666 is simply an expression of evil as anything
that falls short of the good, then its purpose is to
dramatize the point that the beast is evil and
therefore to be resisted at all costs, and possibly
also that it is doomed to "failure upon failure upon
failure," as the next few chapters of Revelation will
show.
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• SUMMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FALSE
PROPHET
• This individual is evidently a Jew, since he arises
out of the earth, or land, that is Palestine
(Revelation 13:11).
• He is influential in religious affairs (“two horns like a
lamb” Revelation 13:11)
• He is motivated by Satan as is the first beast
(Revelation 13:11)
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• He has a delegated authority (“the power of the first
beast” Revelation 13:12)
• He promotes the worship of the first beast and
compels the earth to worship him as God
(Revelation 13:12)
• His ministry is authenticated by the signs and
miracles which he does, evidently proving that he is
the Elijah that was to come (Revelation 13:13-14)
• He is successful in deceiving the unbelieving world
(Revelation 13:14)
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• The worship promoted is an idolatrous worship
(Revelation 13:14-15)
• He has the power of death to compel men to
worship the beast (Revelation 13:15)
• He has authority in the economic realm to control all
commerce (Revelation 13:16-17)
• He has a mark that will establish his identity for
those who live in that day (Revelation 13:18)
8/2/09
AET-063 and 064
119
Next Week
Revelation 14-16